Blizzard Releases 3.1 Ulduar Patch UI Preview

WoW Insider reported yesterday (link) about the how Blizzard released some pics of the new UI changes coming with the Ulduar 3.1 Patch, so it’s not really news today. But I did think there was some merit in taking a little bit deeper look into how these changes would impact us as a Hunter.

So we’ll take a look at a couple of new items that have me excited about the 3.1 Patch, we’ll get to see the Officially released screenshots of the the Dual Spec UI and go over some fine points there.

As well, we’ll touch on the new Gear Management UI implemented with 3.1 and look at how it should help us manage our gear a bit better. Even more now that our quiver is just another specialty bag and we can carry our ammo in that or just in another bag

BTW – is it just me or is anyone else a bit sad to see the quiver go? I know it means additional “Bag” space with the new 1,000 arrow stacking and not having +Haste tied to it, but I dunno.. I kinda miss it personally. Really who ever heard of a Hunter running around without some kind of Ammo Pouch or an Bow Hunter without a quiver. Imagine that? But alas I digress)

You can read more about the new 3.1 Ulduar Patch UI changes at the Official Underdevelopment site. (link)

First off we all know that the Dual Spec functionality is going to cost a 1,000g but accessible at around level 40. (I don’t know about you, but I won’t have 1,000g on this toon at level 40 so this is definitely targeting the multi-alt player.)

Anyways here’s some screen shots

So let’s look into this a bit more:

1. First thing to do is to make sure your UI is configured to allow you to Preview Spec Changes.
2. After you configure your UI go to your trainer and say I want to learn Dual spec
3. Confirm that you REALLY want to do this and pay your 1,000g
4. WHOOT!! You’ve learned Dual Specs (WHOOSH!!)
5. Now you get to choose your Talents and Glyphs.
   • Also, if your pet is out you’ll notice that you can learn a separate talent tree for each (I think this is still borked on the PTR but it’s an known issue and is targeted to be fixed before release)
   • After selecting your Primary Spec.. Save then redo for your secondary spec!!
   • Many have asked about needing 2 sets of Glyphs. As you can tell we have to have 2 sets so start farming your mats now!!
6. Remember!! If you haven’t done Step 1- Configure your UI DO SO NOW!!
   This is great because you get to not only select possible talents, but also unlearn them before saving!! SWEETSAUCE!!

Now notice, you can’t set up a second set of gear. Let’s say you had your separate PvE and PvP gear sets. You can’t save them to your specs. I’m sure we’ll see some add-on or macro in the future that will tie these 2 together

Here’s what Blizzard had to say about it

Talent Dual Specialization

As we’ve continued to develop the dual specialization feature, we’ve made a number of changes in response to playtesting and feedback. Highlights:

• The minimum level to use this feature has been lowered to 40.
• Lexicons of Power will not be necessary for switching between saved talent specs and glyphs. Players will be able to switch between their chosen talents anywhere.
• Switching between talent specs will take 5 seconds, and all mana and resources will be reset to zero when doing so.
• A talent preview option can be activated within the user interface as an advanced option.
• When respeccing talents, whichever pane is active will be reset while the other remains unchanged.
• The cost to purchase the dual spec capability is 1,000 gold.
• Players will not be able to switch between specs during combat, Arenas, or Battlegrounds.

It seems pretty easy to use.

1. Configure UI to enable the Equipment Manager Icon
2. Equip the gear to a specific slot (note seems to allow for 10 items and works with both bag and banked gear)
3. Use it!! J not much better than that really

Here’s how Blizzard described it

Equipment Manager
Another new feature in the upcoming patch is the equipment manager. Once turned on, players will be able to save sets of gear by simply equipping them and creating a hotkey with the currently equipped set. Switch easily between PvP gear, PvE gear, or even your fishing gear for a quiet time next to your favorite lake. Equipment can be switched out from within bag inventory or personal bank inventory. Players will need to be at the bank when swapping between sets if the gear is located in the bank. Should there not be enough room in the player’s bags, the equipment will be placed automatically in the bank. Should neither the bags nor their personal bank have room, the transition will not occur.
Highlights:

• Easily swap equipment between saved sets.
• Pull items directly from your backpack or bank.
• Create a hotkey to switch between sets.

Now I’m not sure if this is completely enabled yet or not, but it still looks like this will be pretty cool!!

(edited to fix picture links)